The “slightest” attack by Israel on Iran will be “dealt with fiercely and severely,” Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi warned on Wednesday.
The president was speaking during an annual army parade in Tehran where the location was changed from where it’s typically held, near the Ruhollah Khomeini’s mausoleum, to a military training center in northeast Tehran. State media did not say why the location was changed this year, but during the Covid-19 pandemic, the main event was also moved.
Raisi said that the weekend attack on Israel was “limited and punitive,” and warned that if Iran had “carried out a stronger operation, nothing would then have been left out of Israel.”
“Our armed forces are ensuring security and peace and establishing sovereignty across the region, and are completely reliable,” Raisi added.
Israel weighs response: His attempted assurances and warnings come as Israel continues weighing how it will respond to the weekend barrage. Israel’s war cabinet met for the fifth time on Tuesday to discuss a response to Iran’s attack but did not reach a conclusion. It’s unclear if the cabinet will meet again on Wednesday.
The United States expects that Israel’s military response to Iran’s strikes will be limited in scope, a senior administration official and a source familiar with the intelligence told CNN. Israel has not given the US an official warning about what their plans may be and when they could occur, the senior administration official said.
